Massachusetts

The 2018 Massachusetts primary election is around the corner. Are you ready to head to the polls on Tuesday, Sept. 4?
What you see on your Massachusetts primary election ballot that day will depend on which party you are currently registered with, and your choices will shape the November election...

Health officials confirmed the first human case of West Nile virus in Boston this year in the wake of Massachusetts moving into a "moderate" risk level for the mosquito-borne infection.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health raised the risk level from low to moderate on...

One of the largest roadblocks to launching the retail market for legal marijuana in Massachusetts was eliminated Thursday as the Cannabis Control Commission approved provisional licenses for two testing laboratories.
Massachusetts officials had hoped to launch legal retail marijuana sales on July...

Dog flu has arrived in Massachusetts, the MSPCA is warning pet owners.
Yup, dog flu is a thing, and the MSPCA Angell Animal Medical Center recently treated its second-ever confirmed case of dog flu in a six-month-old poodle.
The poodle was brought in to the MSPCA on Aug. 12 with a fever and a...

Like thousands of youth across the country, Felix Brody has marched against gun violence in the wake of the Parkland school shooting. From March For Our Lives in Boston to the March on the NRA in Virginia, he’s covered a lot of ground — but he’s not done yet. Soon, he’...

Boston Children’s Hospital paved the way for transgender care back in 2007 with its Gender Management Service program, the first of its kind in the country. And now, the top-ranked institution has once again taken a strong step forward with the first phalloplasty, or penis creation...

New England summers are great, yes, but New England in autumn is really when the region shines. Though the 2018 fall foliage season may come a bit late this year, it’s set to bring “bright, bold colors,” according to the 2018 Yankee Magazine fall foliage forecast.
Each year,...

The Massachusetts primary 2018 is coming up fast. If you want to cast a ballot in that election, you’ll have to first make sure your Massachusetts voter registration status is good to know.
The 2018 primary election is on Tuesday, September 4. Voters across the commonwealth will take to the...

Memes are an internet sensation, but they can also have real-world consequences.
At least 10 students accepted to Harvard College have had their admissions rescinded after sharing racist and “sexually explicit” memes in a Facebook group titled “Harvard memes for horny...

Massachusetts sales tax isn’t among the highest in the country, but it’s also not the lowest. At 6.25 percent, it’s somewhere in the middle — but still, wouldn’t it be nice to have a tax free weekend? Well, a 2018 Massachusetts sales tax holiday has finally been...

Bird scooters may soon have to leave their nests in Cambridge and Somerville.
This week, both Cambridge and Somerville have sent cease and desist letters to Bird, the company behind the rideshare electric scooters that appeared on city streets without warning recently.
“The City of...

Aerospace company Boeing will soon have a new home in Cambridge Kendall Square.
Boeing, the largest aerospace company in the world, has agreed to lease about 100,000 square feet of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology building to be developed at 314 Main St. in Kendall Square, according to MIT...

Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley is racking up some high-profile support for her run for Congress, including an endorsement from Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.
Healey announced her endorsement on Monday in the primary election, siding with her city councilor. Pressley challenges...

An archaic Massachusetts abortion law has been officially overturned with Gov. Charlie Baker’s signing of the NASTY Women Act.
Baker on Friday signed the act after state legislators and Boston City Council members pushed for the legislation, saying it is necessary to protect abortion rights...

After Forbes published (and then deleted) an op-ed with the headline “Amazon Should Replace Local Libraries to Save Taxpayers Money,” people have been taking to the internet to defend the public institutions that offer thousands of books, classes, and maybe most importantly, a stuffed...

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced on Tuesday that she is investigating JUUL because of how the company markets to minors.
Healey’s office has sent cease and desists to two online companies that host three websites — directeliquid.com, buyjuul.com and eonsmoke.com...

While individual cities across the commonwealth have pledged to protect immigrant communities, Massachusetts had yet to solidify itself as a sanctuary state. And now, legislators have taken a proposal that would have done so off the table.
In May, the Massachusetts Senate passed an amendment that...

In this modern age, viral videos are the surest way to get attention to an issue, whether it’s of a regular citizen calling the police on a black person, or of the police themselves using excessive force or behaving in a way you want the world to know about. But can you record the police in...

Officials on Monday prepared to charge a hospitalized Massachusetts man accused of killing a Boston-area police officer and a bystander on Sunday with the officer’s pistol before being shot by police.
The 20-year-old man was arrested early Sunday after police in Weymouth, Massachusetts,...

The opioid epidemic in Massachusetts has been one of the worst in the country. In 2016, the rate of opioid overdose deaths here was 29.7 per 100,000 residents, compared to the national rate of 13.3.
Hopefully, though, there is relief on the way. Doctors in Massachusetts are leading the country in...